BB Suggests : The Best of Hollywood |
BB Suggests: The Best of Hollywood:-
Hollywood is one of the largest film industries in the world. While they don't make as many films as the Mumbai film industry does, the quantum of money involved is mind boggling and far more than we can dream of spending. It is but obvious that the success of a film will most likely be measured by its box office earnings. BatchBuzz brings to you a list of the ten Hollywood films that raked in the most moolah in the American market since well… the beginning of time!
Gone with the Wind (1939) : Based on a novel of the same title by Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind portrays one of the most touching love stories ever written. The film boasts an immortal cast, epic performances and the timeless tale of a love-hate romance, set during the American civil war. The two lead characters, Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler are indomitable, passionate yet apathetic. The authenticity of the film is enhanced by costumes, sets and excerpts from Civil War martial airs. Its opening, only a few months after WWII began in Europe, helped American audiences to identify with the war story and its theme of survival.
Star Wars (1977) :A soap opera franchise conceived by George Lucas, this film became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, spawning two immediate sequels, released at three-year intervals. Sixteen years after the release of the trilogy's final film, the first in a new prequel trilogy of films was released, again released at three-year intervals, with the final film released on May 19, 2005. The events depicted take place in a fictional galaxy with many species of alien creatures. Space travel is common and the theme is essentially the victory of good over evil. This movie had great social impact as it replaced the then recent spate of dark and gloomy films.
The Sound of Music (1965) :This musical originated with the book titled “The story of Trapp family Singers” and portrays the story of a young woman, Maria, who fails in her attempts to be a nun and is therefore sent to be a governess to seven very unhappy children with a very strict father who is stricken with grief after the loss of his wife . The endearing tale revolves around how Maria is accepted by first the children, with the help of music and then their father. The third act of the film has anti-Nazi sentiments which gives the film a historical angle. Though the film was very popular (popular enough to be third on the most successful films), it received little critical acclaim.
E.T: The Extra Terrestrial (1982) : An American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, tells the story of Elliott (played by Thomas), a lonely boy who befriends a friendly extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth. Elliott and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government. There were allegations that the film was plagiarized from a 1967 script, The Alien, by celebrated Bengali director Satyajit Ray. Ray stated, "E.T. would not have been possible without my script of The Alien being available throughout the United States in mimeographed copies." Spielberg denied this claim, stating, "I was a kid in high school when his script was circulating in Hollywood."
The Ten Commandments (1956) : This film was a dramatization of the Biblical story of Moses, an adopted Egyptian prince turned deliverer of the Hebrew slaves. It was partially a remake of the silent film of the same theme released three decades ago and many of the cast and crew had worked on the previous film as well. The budget for the sets, costumes and props was so low that they were bought and re-used from another film, The Egyptian. This version of the film remained the highest earning film with a religious theme until 2004's ‘The Passion of Christ'.
Titanic (1997) :A grand film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron about the sinking of the RMS Titanic. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson and Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater, two members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the ill-fated maiden voyage of the ship. The main characters and the central love story are fictional, but some characters (such as members of the ship's passengers and crew) are based on historical figures. The film garnered mostly positive reviews from film critics. The film was nominated for a record-tying 14 Academy Awards and won 11.
Jaws (1975) : A thriller directed by Steven Spielberg and based on Peter Benchley's novel of the same name, Jaws is the story of the police chief of Amity Island, who tries to protect beachgoers from a giant great white shark by closing the beach, only to be overruled by the town council. After several attacks, the police chief enlists the help of a marine biologist and a professional shark hunter. Jaws was the first film to open nationwide, on hundreds of screens simultaneously, coupled with a national marketing campaign—-a then-unheard of practice. It marked a sea change in the marketing of films in America.
Doctor Zhivago (1965) : Loosely based on the famous novel of the same name by Boris Pasternak, the film takes place for the most part during the tumultuous period of 1912-1921, the years which included World War I, the Russian Revolution, and Russian Civil War, as the regime of Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown and the Soviet Union established. Cheka General Yevgraf Zhivago searches for the illegitimate child of his half brother, poet and doctor Yuri Zhivago, and his mistress Larissa ("Lara") Antipova. Yevgraf believes a young woman named Tonya Komarovskaya working on a dam project may be his niece. Around 1956, Yevgraf narrates the story for her, periodically appearing in it, though he rarely interacts with any other characters in the flashbacks.
10. The Exorcist (1973) : Adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, the Exorcist deals with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother's desperate attempts to win back her daughter through an exorcism conducted by two priests. The film became one of the most profitable horror films of all time and proved to have a profound effect on popular culture. Upon its release on December 26, 1973, the film received mixed reviews from critics, "ranging from ‘classic' to ‘claptrap'. However, over the years, its critical reception has improved and it is deemed a must watch horror film.
Show White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) : An animated film based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale Snow White. It was the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, as well as the first animated feature film produced in America, the first produced in full color, the first to be produced by Walt Disney, and the first in the Walt Disney Animated Classics canon… Phew! Disney's wife, Lillian, told him: "No one's ever gonna pay a dime to see a dwarf picture."[13] Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre on December 21, 1937 to a wildly receptive audience, many of whom were the same naysayers who dubbed the film "Disney's Folly."[1] The film received a standing ovation at its completion from a star-studded audience that included such celebrities as Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard, Shirley Temple, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Judy Garland, Ginger Rogers, Jack Benny, Fred MacMurray, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, Burns and Allen, Ed Sullivan, Milton Berle, John Barrymore, and Marlene Dietrich. Six days later, Walt Disney and the seven dwarfs appeared on the cover of Time magazine. The New York Times said "Thank you very much, Mr. Disney."
If you haven't seen these movies, we suggest you get right to it!
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